Thorne
I focus on keeping my head still as Bella works. Staring at the floor I can hear the snick of the shears as clumps of hair are shorn free and fall into my lap. Bella hums softly to herself while she works; it’s so quiet I wonder if she even realizes she’s doing it. I can’t help but smile at the thought. Before long Bella’s able to run a hand freely through my hair.
“There we go,” she says, her voice gentle, “Let’s get you washed up then I’ll clean it up a bit more.”
I nod.
As she comes around to stand in front of me, her brow furrows, “Your beard needs trimming too.”
“How bad is it?” I ask, raising a hand to my chin.
“We might be able to comb it out once it’s wet, want to try that?”
I nod, “Yes, I don’t like to keep it very long, but I don’t want it gone either. Especially since I can’t do it myself, that’d be…” I trail off.
“I don’t think you need a shave to feel better.” She says with a smile, “But I’ll help you trim it once it’s clean.” She glances at the water then at me, “Ian put underwear on you when I first brought you back, if you want to strip down to just that it’ll let us get you clean without you having to uh…” her cheeks turn bright pink, “expose yourself.”
I chuckle, “Sounds good,” I go to grab my shirt and manage to fumble with it, I half growl at the offending garment as I get myself stuck in it.
Before I have time to try and rip the shirt apart Bella grips the fabric and pulls it over my head. She smiles softly and sets it aside, “There, you can use the chair to support your weight and take off the pants.”
She helps me stand and I brace one hand against the chair, feeling foolish at my struggles. Without asking she simply turns her back and waits while I fight with the pants, “Okay.” I say gruffly.
She turns back and hooks my arm over her shoulders then helps me to the bath. Once I’m settled she produces a washcloth and dunks it in the water beside me, “Let me know if you’re sore at all,” she says.
Her hands are gentle as she washes my skin, that soft hum returning she continues across both arms then hands me a cloth, “Do you think you can get your chest and legs? I’ll get your back.”
I eye the cloth for a second then take it from her, “I should be able to manage that, is there soap?”
“Yes, but I figured we’d get the bulk of the grime off first.”
“The water’s going to be unusable by then,” I grumble looking at the already dingy water.
She looks around us, then dips one finger in the water and whispers something softly. I can’t understand her but her voice has a coaxing tone that almost has me climbing out of the water then, to my surprise, the water clears.
“What did you do?” I ask.
She smiles shyly at me, “Spells aren’t my strong suit, but my dad was able to teach me some basic ones.”
“Your father is a Caster?” I ask.
Her smile fades and she shakes her head, “No, he wasn’t, but he knew about magic.” Her clipped tone keeps me from prying further.
Bella moves to my back as I try to clean my chest and legs. I hiss when she runs her hand over a sore spot on my shoulder.
“Are you okay?” her voice is laced with concern.
“Yeah, just a sore muscle. It’s fine.”
“Okay,” she says skeptically.
We finish scrubbing the dirt off of me in silence; once done Bella uses some magic to clean the water again then hands me some soap and takes a piece for herself. We continue to work in silence for a while, then she runs her hands across my shoulders, pressing her thumbs into the muscle that was hurting before.
I tense and inhale sharply as a shock of energy courses through me, it’s as if I came in out of a blizzard and into hot water, startling but soothing. Bella stills, “Are you okay?” she asks, “Did I hurt you?”
It takes me a moment to find my words, “N-no," my voice an octave higher, "just startled me. It actually feels good.”
“Good,” she says, and I can hear the smile in her voice.
Before I can say more she starts massaging the muscles again, the tension drains from me like it never existed. The feel of her hands against my skin is impossibly soothing, like crawling into a warm bed after a long day. As she continues her ministrations, I can’t fight the soft groan that rises in my throat.
I bite my lip as soon as I make the sound, praying that she didn’t hear me. She doesn’t let up on the pressure, but does ask, “Is it starting to hurt?”
“A little,” I lie, “But it still feels a lot better.”
“That’s probably enough for now; let’s finish getting you cleaned up.” She adds some soap to my hair and washes it thoroughly, scrubbing my scalp and untangling the remaining hair. I'm thankful she mistakes my trembling for the water getting cool.
After the grime is gone Bella gives me some privacy so I can clean my genitals, once that’s done I cover myself so Bella can help me to my feet. I have to lean heavily on her, but she doesn’t seem to mind and lets herself get soaked from supporting me. I sit back down on the chair and she grabs a bigger towel to dry me off.
Once I’m dry, Bella runs a comb through my hair, “It’s not tangled anymore, but it’s really uneven. I can even it out a bit, then when you’re feeling better you can decide how you want to keep it. Sound good?” she looks down at me with a raised brow.
I nod, “Yeah, that sounds great.” I reach up to rub my beard, running my hands through it, “This seems to be untangled too.”
“Do you want me to trim it?” she asks, eying my face but not touching my beard.
“Yeah, just shorten it?” I look up at her hopefully.
She smiles, “Yeah, just hold still.” She grabs the shears again and goes to work.
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